The weekend before last, I was lucky enough to see Comet NEOWISE from my sister's in darkest Burgundy - F and I waited for it to become visible on Saturday night, and once we had located it in Ursa Major, everyone came out and saw it on the Sunday. It was clearly visible with the naked eye; young S's small binoculars really enhanced it, though not ( Read more... )

Second paragraph of third chapter:A spectacle, certainly, and as an early palace of industry clearly worthy of the guidebooks (themselves novelties). By any stretch of the imagination, though, the Manufacture des Tabacs was an odd place to look for someone who would become the most celebrated mathematical astronomer of his day-but not everyone ( Read more... )

It is said that Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) never saw the planet Mercury in his lifetime, though this seems to be a misunderstanding. Until last week, I had never knowingly seen it either ( Read more... )

Here's Why The General Election Will Actually Be Really Fascinating
Buzzfeed's tour d'horizon.
(tags: ukpolitics )

An Open Letter On The Subject Of Tim Farron's 'Homophobia'
Telling it like it is.
(tags: ukpolitics libdems sexandgenderandsexuality )

Hugo award winner Folding Beijing to be made into a movie
Hooray!
(tags: China sf )

Please Read ( Read more... )

A Brexit lexicon
A to Z.
(tags: brexit eu ukpolitics )

What File 770 readers nominated for the Hugo Awards in the short fiction categories
Fascinating!
(tags: sf hugos )

A new definition would add 102 planets to our solar system - including Pluto
Reopening the can of worms!
(tags: astronomy )

Are There More Trees on Earth Than There Are Stars in the Milky Way?
Actually, yes, as it turns out.
(tags: mathematics biology astronomy )

Inside the Secret World of Russia’s Cold War Mapmakers
Fascinating piece (from 2015)
(tags: Russia Maps )

Same But Different
My friend Siobhán: "I can see the world as a white person and as a black person."
( ( Read more... )

Martin McGuiness’s departure represents failure on all sides
Newton Emerson sums it up.
(tags: northernireland )

Peter Weston (1944-2017)
Among many other things, he owned the foundry which has made the Hugo Awards since 1984.
(tags: hugos sf death )

North looking at a new election landscape
My piece for Wednesday's Irish Times
(tags: ( Read more... )

NASA Didn't Find Life on Mars-But It Did Find Something Very Cool
West Wing not prophetic yet in this case.
(tags: mars astronomy )

The Fury and Failure of Donald Trump
Matt Tabibi, glorious as usual.
(tags: uspolitics )

Spin To Survive: How 'Saturn On Steroids' Keeps From Self-Destructing
Wow.
(tags: astronomy )

"Alexander Hamilton" in ASL
Chills down the spine...
(tags: hamilton disability )

UKIP's MP Is Arguing With Scientists About What Causes Tides And People Are Taking The Piss
And rightly so.
(tags: brexit astronomy )

Terence Crutcher's Family Seeks Criminal Charges: 'His Life Mattered'
Another one.
(tags: race uspolitics )

Police In North Carolina ( Read more... )